Rodriguez’s penalty is expected to be more severe than the 65-game ban handed down to Ryan Braun on Monday. A person with knowledge of the investigation told Nightengale that the league is prepared to suspend A-Rod for at least 100 games. An appeal would make it unlikely that he serves any portion of a suspension this year.

Rodriguez, currently on the DL following hip surgery and now also rehabbing a strained quad, was the top billed of the players originally found to be clients of the now defunct Biogenesis clinic. That came four years after he originally admitted to using steroids in 2001-03 while playing for the Rangers. He’s still owed about $100 million through 2017 under the terms of his deal with the Yankees.

According to Nightengale, MLB is also investigating whether Rodriguez attempted to destroy Biogenesis materials that would have linked him to the clinic. The New York Daily News reported earlier this month that a former Biogenesis employee, Porter Fischer, tried to sell documents to Rodriguez for $1 million, but was turned down by the player and his representatives.

All anyone needs to know about the previous reports accuracy ” ESPNNewYork’s Wallace Matthews said Rodriguez was trying to cut a deal with the league.” is in the first few words. ESPN-NY and Wallace Matthews are notorious for misinformation on anything Yankees. And that’s more then just this Yankee fans opinion. I know a lot of other Yankee fans that agree with me.

I want to see this massive amount of evidence MLB claims to have before condemning Arod. He’s already admitted once to using and was seemingly forgiven for his transgression. All of this “he said/ she said” and “we’ve got the goods on him” doesn’t really amount to anything at this point in the game. Braun obviously used, admitted it and took his punishment so MLB obviously had the goods on him, so where are “the goods” on Arod?

This whole things deserves a public trial of sorts. Let’s see the evidence and then decide. This is like finding him guilty with no evidence, however, with everything sealed or being held in confidence from the public, how can we tell who’s who and what’s what?

If he cheated, AGAIN, then lifetime ban. If they can’t prove he cheated, then all this posturing by MLB makes them look like idiots. Kinda reminds me of a cop telling a suspect we got you cold, we have evidence that proves you are guilty now admit it. Arod lawyer’d up as most would.

So if he is proved to have cheated again he’ll be put in the same boat as Pete Rose and he can forget the hall of fame.

I, like most of you, would like to see what MLB has on Arod. MLB needs to lay their cards on the table and quit trying to cut a deal. Prove him a liar or prove him innocent!!!

wretchu - Jul 24, 2013 at 10:51 AM

If their evidence was not credible, I highly doubt that Braun would’ve cut a deal as quickly as he did. This is a guy who got off from a technicality and ruined the life of the sample collector after the fact. There’s no way that MLB is lying about what they have, or else Braun would’ve refused to settle.

He’s not in the power position between himself and MLB, but he has some leverage. MLB wants to get this over with as soon as possible, and the best way to do so is to get all of the suspensions accepted and served. A legal fight just drags all of this out.

Right now, I would bet they end up settling because if MLB really has more evidence on Rodriguez than Braun it is in both sides’ best interest. I do have little doubt, though, that Rodriguez will take MLB down with him–as little as that will be–if he doesn’t like the offer.

stevem7 - Jul 24, 2013 at 8:10 AM

While not taking either side in this issue, the manner in which MLB performed this investigation is subject to being borderline illegal and after the arbitrator rules this whole thing will wind up in court. That’s the one place MLB doesn’t want to be as this entire investigation started by using a court to gain subpoena power over Biogenesis under seal. So MLB wanted leverage and no publicity. When it comes out that intimidation and money were used to buy testimony this whole thing will get tossed by a court. So AROD probably deals from a position of more power than folks realize.

This is like watching two people fighting on a ledge over a 200 foot drop. You don’t want to see what’s coming but you can’t stop watching. The league seems to want to apply maximum punishment to ARod but unlike Braun he has never tested positive and has a good argument for a lesser suspension if the league has the goods on him. There have been rumblings about increased punishment for obstructing the investigation but if you believe the stories linked with Mathew’s blog, ARod turned down requests from Bosch to fund his defense to the MLB lawsuit and offers from others to buy the Biogenisis documents. The baseless Biogenisis lawsuit against Bosch makes the league look bad and if there is a lawsuit there will almost certainly be claims, probably substantiated, that MLB and the union ignored or condoned PED use for years. MLB might find itself desperately wanting off that ledge while ARod will have little to lose. Fun times ahead.

wretchu - Jul 24, 2013 at 10:57 AM

Probably should’ve followed that with “I am not a lawyer” there, stevem. Maybe you think it’s morally questionable (I do as well, in some cases anyway), but using the threat of a lawsuit to encourage a quick settlement is very much an accepted legal practice. Shady, maybe, but MLB would be in the clear here. While I don’t agree with your assessment, even if what they did is “borderline illegal”, it’s still legal.

I already conceded that a guy like A-Rod would never walk away from that much dough, even though he’s already worth 1/3 billion dollars by some estimates.

I was simply saying that, me, personally, would walk away, as would most of us…as I said, hyper-ambitious, fame-and-achievement-craving, narcissistic, Type-A personalities are almost sociopathic in their desire for status.

That’s why they don’t walk away like a normal person would…’cuz they’re NOT normal, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. People like A-Rod cure diseases, invent the PC and build multimillion dollar companies…but that relentless drive and talent comes with a price.

Some people can harness it (Derek Jeter, Bill Gates) and some people it ends up destroying (Bernie Madoff, Ken Lay…A-Rod?)

I know that A Rod’s image is that of a self absorbed schmuck, but the over the top hatred is absurd. from people equating him to Ken Lay and Bernie Madoff (see earlier posts) to wanting him banned for years. give it up. yo have no idea how these pepole really are. The Yankees (and I’m a fan) over paid and bid against themselves. people are ready to give Braun a pass- while he lied through his teeth last year and savaged a regular guy to successfully win on a technicality- just get over yourselves

Who would have thought the NBA would be considered the pro sport with the most stand up players.

I hope all of the evidence becomes public. Great time for the government to do whatever they want as the public will be too caught up in the crucifixion of as many dirty mlb players and the Hernandez murder case. If only Khloe Kardashian could get pregnant, it would be the apocalyptic hat trick of distraction.

And every holier-than-thou sportswriter passes an on-the-spot drug test. I hope A-FRAAAAUUUDDDD HAW HAW HAW uses his hundreds of millions of dollars to hire private detectives to unearth every dirty secret those assholes have.

Ok so I get, calling out baseball for suspending guys now for doing things that guys15 years ago did, those guys basically saved baseball from being a regional sport like hockey. They are hypocrites. Knocking mlb for slowly leaking names in stead of just putting all the cards on the table is kind of a joke too.

But I don’t get how anyone can have guys like a-rod and Braun. They cheated at pro sports. They lied about it. And even after being caught continued to use. They CHEATED. Would you play cards with a guy you know cheats ? Of course not.

Are really that f’d up in this country that we are not only looking the other way at cheating, but now some of us are literally standing up to defend CHEATERS.

Beyond that craziness I think a conversation on why no players are going to jail on this. People go to jail on some drug bs every single day. Most using drugs less harmful than roids or hgh and for the most part their use has not affected the heart of American sports. I could careless about a-rods park Ave apartment or his millions, the dude clearly bought, used, covered up the use of, and could probably be said to be part of a criminal enterprise as I am sure a-rod helped others find these “services”. This whole deal is a joke. There’s like a million poor people in jail for using pot and yet not one rich baseball player is in jail for cheating in baseball by using illegal drugs.

Are really that f’d up in this country that we are not only looking the other way at cheating, but now some of us are literally standing up to defend CHEATERS.

Who is defending the cheating? You grasping at straws here. Many of us who aren’t in the “lynch them now” camp are merely asking why people are so enraged over this when people have been cheating in baseball since it’s inception? We’re merely asking for some continuity in thinking.

Cheating is bad, and I’d prefer it were never in baseball. But you know what, it always has been and always will. As someone else said, as long as there’s a financial incentive to make yourself better, someone is going to try to find a shortcut. Happens in sports, happens in life, happens in business.

So because it always has been in baseball, your take on this is “C’est La Vie”? Sounds fairly cowardly (or at least complacent) to me. How about we try to eliminate it from the game as much as possible, making it a true sport for our children to watch and real heroes to model themselves after, instead of drug pumped prima donnas, liars, cheaters and head cases? Let’s push this last case of drugs in baseball as far as it can go; hand out as many lifetime bans as is necessary, and hit them where it hurts (in their wallets and their egos, by being tainted with the cheater/drug user label that can keep them out of Cooperstown). Yes, you’ll still have people trying to cheat (superballs inside bats, anyone?) but it will cut this down to a minimum, and they’ll know that if they get caught they are going to get the evil eye from every one of the clean players they meet and be kept out of the Hall of Fame.

The worm has turned and the chickens are no longer protecting the fox…..whatever happened in the past,they said they were going to stop it,signed an agreement to work to stop it. This is known as the writing on the wall. . Clearly,there were players who either did not believe them,or thought themselves above it all,or both(and just as clearly,there are people willing to agree with them)…..and no amount of false equivalency is going to make it go away.., The fact that too many fans,teams,and MLB looked the other way for too long is immaterial at this point. As my Dad would say,that fact and a dollar will get you a dollar cup of coffee.

I believe A-Rod will lawyer up, sue baseball and once this case goes into deposition MLB will be force to settle with him. I doubt if MLB would want case goes to trial; because their so-called evidence was gotten illegally and is fundamentally tainted. There is still a thing called due process in this country and MLB paying and intimidating witnesses would add more to an already ugly stain on MLB.

No matter what one may think of A-Rod, history says he’s only interested in himself and he’ll take MLB down with him. He’ll never play again; but he’ll get all his money and Commissioner Selig will be force to take up a collection from his MLB owners and settle.

Who do you think has more money to fight this to the bitter end to get AROID out of baseball for good…AROID himself, or the MLB/Owners? Don’t think for one minute that the player’s association will have anything to do with his side (I think with all of the evidence MLB has,m they are probably telling him to negotiate down to 150 games). He is on his own, and even teamates who profess their love for him as a brother will run for cover if this ever goes to a court.

Reblogged this on The Quarterback and commented:
Alex Rodriguez is a pretty lousy human being. Not Aaron Hernandez lousy, but lousy nonetheless.
I mean does this guy have a single redeeming quality? His owner, Hank Steinbrenner, and the New York Yankees fan base can’t even stand him anymore and it’s because of headlines like this.

A-Rod, EVERYONE knows you took steroids. You know how we know? You ADMITTED it!

He needs to just face the music and accept his suspension.

He is going to be suspended anyway and, believe it or not, the ball is in his court as to how much baseball he is going to miss.

If he had half a brain he would take any deal that Major League Baseball offers him…but he doesn’t have half a brain.

This guy has tainted baseball long enough. MLB should just do us all a favor and ban A-Rod for life.